Spanish Peaks Black Dog Ale | Spanish Peaks Brewing Co.

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Slightly hazy, deep reddish-copper color with a thin creamy head. The aroma is of caramel malt and light fruit with some grassy/piney hoppiness occasionally appearing in the background. The body is medium-full with a gentle carbonation and a somewhat dullish but creamy mouthfeel. The flavor is mainly of a sweet & toasty caramel malt, with some summer fruit and lightly piney hop character following, supported by a bitterness that shows itself mainly in the finish along with some cocoa. Well made, and quite enjoyable with a very nice maltiness. Worth trying.

A: The beer is a bright reddish amber color with a thin white head that fades quickly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of caramelized malt, hops, citrus and a little spice.

T: The taste is malty with flavors of caramel, nuts, spice and a hint of citrus fruit, but not very sweet. The hops are very faint, but they are there, makes me think this one should be moved over to one of the English Ale categories.

D: Not very tasty, but it goes down easy, which is about the only compliment I can give this beer. The ABV isn’t listed but it’s got to be low. If I had to guess, I’d say less than 5.00%. I didn’t really care for this beer too much. I was given a sixer of this beer as a gift and I’ll certainly finish it (just not tonight), but I wouldn’t buy another.

Dark coppery orange with a snowstorm of suspended yeast. The light tan head is decently dense and leaves an almost solid sheet of lace near the surface of the receding beer. The aroma falls solidly in the 'balanced for an APA' category. Malt might be just a tad more noticeable than herbal-fruity hops, though both could use more nostril-filling power. Not the usual APA nose and not all that impressive.

The beer manages more boldness on the palate, but could use even more oomph yet. Caramel malt still leads the way. Additional flavors are apparent, such as toffee and subtly smoky peat, giving the beer a weak Scotch ale vibe; definitely odd for the style. Hops remain in the background and contribute little flavor or bitterness. The light-medium body is unusual given the malt dominance.

Black Dog Ale is just okay in my book. It borrows elements from several different styles and doesn't bring them together into any kind of cohesive whole. It's a decent drinker, just don't expect to be wowed.

12 ounce bottle sampled, no freshness dating. Pours dark honey/almond amber, clear, with large bubble rising, a minimal white head and just a tad of lacing on the glass. Slight buttery nose. Fairly full bodied ale, malty, buttery. Notes of honey.vanilla, toffe. Fairly low hopping rate, as just the slightest drying and bitterness is noted late. Middle of the road, APA, I prefer this style to be more assertiviely hopped. Decent sessioner, tastes more like a Brit style brown ale to me.

Appears a copper amber hue with a bronzish beige off white head leaves even lacing around my pint glass. Aroma has some deep caramel English tinted malt notes with nutty toffee and mild cocoa and dark chocolate malts in addition to the rest of grain bill. Hops are very mild sort of funky and mild grassy in the English pale tradition. Flavor has a roasty chocolate/caramel mix, with toffee tones from the English malts and a mild medicinal tree bark earthy nutty tea feel to it with substantial pine hops very nice American contract brewed English style amber pale. Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with a nice coating on the palate and carried by moderate carbonation. Drinkability not a bad session ale but nothing to yearn for I was surprised however by the flavor picked it up in a mixed sixer with no expectations...definitely a solid drinkable offering.

If this were supposed to be a pale ale, it'd be ok, but the brewery says amber so I'm going with that. There's a nice malty backbone fused with a bit citrus/pine hops. Neither flavor is too big, though it's still rich in flavor, and the beer is very drinkable. It reminds of something from Rogue based on the caramel malt smell, though I doubt Pacman yeast was used. Overall, this is a balanced beer with a little hops kick thats easy to drink.

I sampled this on January 5, 2010. It had a handsome looking mahogany-brown pour with about three-quarters of an inch of short-lived foamy beige head. Lots of lacing but the head dissolves after a few minutes. A good amount of perfume-like sweetness and a bit of hoppiness in the aroma. The mouthfeel is pretty durable and carbonated. The taste is bitter like an English style with a subtle hoppy finale. Not at all bad.

The beer pours a dark golden/amber color with a thick white head that quickly fades to lacing. The aroma is quite average. It has no real odor at all besides the basic pale malt smell. The taste is decent. It is dry and plain. It has the taste of pale malts and some higher lovibond malts. It has no complexity, but it isn't that bad. The mouthfeel is good. It is a low bodied beer with good carbonation. This beer drinks well besides the fact that it has no real niche or flare.

Into a mug it goes, the beer pours caramel copper color. The orange copper color is brillinat in my glass, and the head formation and retention is great. Great lacing too. The aroma is soft and subtle. A little bit of apricot, zest of grapefruit feel. As for taste, it is light one. It reminds me of a good English ale. Fruity esters dominate this one, flavors of pine, caramel, and a soft buttery edge. Mouthfeel is smooth with a buttery feel.

An enjoyable ale. It's not the hopbomb you would expect given the category listing, but it's pretty good washing down some tortellini.

Pours with a frothy, large bubbled, tan colored head that sits atop a lightly hazy deep orange-amber colored brew. The aroma is a mix malty notes of caramel lightly toasted whole grain bread and fruity notes of cherry & strawberry. The taste starts out with a certain smooth creaminess, but quickly moves to a light frothy spritziness. This beer has a nice (though fairly subtle) zesty hop character to it that adds a bit of a bite as well as some nice flavor zing. The taste is quite fruity with notes of cherry and raisins. There is a bit more hop character than I was expecting in this beer and there is a nice fruity character to balance it. Actually not a bad example of an English style Pale Ale.

Pours a dark amber color with a one-finger head. Aroma is somewhat malty with a nice hop bitterness showing through. Biscuity and smooth. Taste is chewy and malty with the same hop bitterness that fades in the aftertaste. Somewhat fruity as well at the back of the throat. Very drinkable though.

The label says Amber Ale but the style says American Pale Ale. Somewhat confusing but similar to Roxy Rolles in regards to bending the styles. Not a bad ale at all.